In this article we are going to try and help you remove Koolova Ransomware. Our instructions cover all Windows versions.

Your files have been encrypted by Koolova Ransomware and a disturbing note is now asking you to pay huge amount of money (usually in Bitcoins) to get them back? Then, we are sorry to say that you’ve become a victim of a very malicious type of malware known as Ransomware. This is the quirt of the new digital world and its target is the most precious thing – the users’ data. Once it infects you, this dreadful threat encrypts all the information found on the victim’s computer and keeps it locked until a huge amount of money is paid as ransom. The cyber criminals behind the Ransomware have turned it into a profitable business model for themselves and a real nightmare for many businesses and online users all around the world. But the battle is still not lost, so don’t lose hope. If you have been infected with Koolova Ransomware, there is a removal guide below, which contains very detailed instructions on how to detect and remove it from your computer. In the next lines, we will give you also a bit more details of the nature of the malware, the way it spreads and the possible measures you can take to protect yourself in the future. We will also try to help you retrieve some of your encrypted files from the system, but we need to warn you that due to the sophisticated encryption that the Ransomware has applied, there might be no 100% success. In any way, if you don’t want to pay ransom to the cyber criminals, the information below is all at your disposal for free and may turn out to be helpful, so take a look at it.

How Koolova may have infected you

One particularly nasty thing about Ransomware is that people often have absolutely no idea that they have been infected until the damage is done. This is thanks to the sophisticated methods of distribution that the hackers use in order to infect as many people as possible. Usually, the malicious payload is masked as an almost legitimate looking email or attachment, or a link, or an image, or a document, etc. The moment the users click on it, their system silently gets compromised by a Trojan horse, which creates vulnerability in the system for the Ransomware to come.

No visible symptoms can be noticed in the moment of contamination, not even during the encryption process. In some cases the victims may notice some unusual CPU usage, but most of the time Koolova will try to remain undetected for the entire period, during which it will lock every file, found on your hard drive and other connected devices. As one of the latest Ransomware versions that appeared just recently, this one will apply a very complex algorithm of symbols to ensure that there is no program or way to access them. Pictures, documents, projects, music, videos, games, even system files – they all can be encrypted and the only way to decrypt them is with the help of a special decryption key. That key, of course, is in the hands of the hackers, and they will make you pay a fat sum for it, in case you want your files back.

Is there a way to decrypt your files without paying the ransom?

Getting some of your files back could be possible, but there is no guarantee that it may work flawlessly. Koolova is a really nasty threat and the hackers behind it have made sure that decryption is not possible without paying for the special decryption key that is in their hands. This is their main way to make money from innocent people and become richer and richer every time the victims submit to their demands. However, security experts are fighting against this criminal practice and they advise victims not to pay a penny to the crooks, because this only helps Ransomware become more popular and more sophisticated. That is what we also recommend, because having in mind that you are dealing with unscrupulous crooks, there is a very realistic risk of not getting the promised decryption key, let alone your files. After all, the only thing that the hackers care about is your money and there is nothing that could make them care about your encrypted files and your misery once they get their Bitcoins. But after all, the decision whether to pay or not is all up to you. We could suggest is to give the removal guide below a try. It may help you clean your infected computer and eventually get some of your files back, so you will lose nothing if you try it. Backups are also a good way to recover from the data loss once you clean your system, so make sure you backup all your important data regularly and keep it safe in an external drive or a cloud.

Press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC keys simultaneously –> Processes Tab –> Select a suspicious process (use Google or ask us in the comments if you are not sure about a process) –> Right Click and Open File Location –> End the suspicious process in Task Manager –> Delete the Folders containing the suspicious files.